"In essence, the claims in these cases are that Sony Computer Entertainment of America ('Sony') falsely represented that PS3 purchasers would be able to use their PS3s as a computer by installing another operating system, such as Linux," a document obtained by Ars Technica states. "In a recent firmware update, Sony removed the ability of consumers to utilize this feature. As a result, seven class actions were filed against Sony in federal court in San Francisco, California."

The consolidation of the cases was at the request of the plaintiffs' lawyers. The next court date is set for September.